[woodcote]

   

WHO Digital Saturday - 19 November, 10am-5pm

Regulations and formats can be found here: http://www.whoracing.org.uk/who_digital_...02020.html

Doors open at 10am - please don’t arrive earlier… unless you are part of the set-up crew, of course! As always, we ask that all racers aged 12 or younger bring a responsible adult with them. Race fees: £6 for adults, £4 for under-16s - or £3/£2 for a half day. We now have cashless payment options and will be offering season ticket deals ready for the start of 2023. Please ask Terry for details.

Digital Saturday format: There’s time for practice after doors open at 10am, but our club car rotation begins sharp at 10.30am. Please don’t be late. The rotation is a great way to get into the groove and learn the track. You’ll drive each of the six club cars for two minutes each - including a pit stop. The aim is to complete as many laps as possible. The day then progresses with a reverse grid BTCC race, Group C and Muscle Car Mondiale - plus a GT team race that kicks off the afternoon’s action. There’s a break for lunch (you’ll need to provide your own) and we aim to finish by 5pm. Full details are in the 2022 WHO Digital Guide: http://www.whoracing.org.uk/who_digital_...02020.html

Covid precautions: It seems sensible to keep our usual common-sense precautions in place to keep vulnerable members of the extended WHO family safe. The main thing is to stay away if you have any symptoms that could be Covid. Inside the Barn, wearing a face mask, practising good hand-hygiene and giving each other space are non-negotiable requirements. We will ensure as good ventilation as possible - and also have hand sanitiser and spare masks available if you forget your own. Any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

[woodcote]

Race Report Part 1 - Morning Session

Twenty-four of us took part in at least one of the morning races, making it the busiest Digital Saturday ever! As always, a slick performance by the set-up crew had Simon's new design ready for practice at 10am...

   

It was quickly evident that the layout would give us some very close and exciting racing during the day, which began with a 22-strong Club Car Rotation...

   

All the drivers raced for two minutes with each of the six club cars, trying to eke out as many laps at they could - 'parts' were only recorded for the yellow car to act as a tie-breaker. Twenty-two heats was a long slog, but with Ash magnificent on race control and Oliver swiftly lining up the cars, it was a quick-fire hour-and-three-quarters with the tension building nicely towards the end...

   

Two racers - Terry and Andy - managed an eight-lap run apiece, otherwise sevens were the target and six a solid score. Duncan was the early pace-setter - the second driver to finish all six cars - and he led for what seemed like ages with 40 laps. Eight heats later, and Terry beat him by half a lap to go top. Ryan came close - and then Andy came even closer, falling short by just a quarter of a lap. Alex had a big chance in the final heat, but the 7.25 lap score he needed was out of reach, leaving him fourth behind Duncan...

   

That gave us a brand new WHO individual winner! Terry was gob-smacked and delighted all at the same time, accepting his medal alongside Isaac, who finished top of the three junior racers...

   

One very notable performance was that of Marios, who - on his digital debut - finished in a terrific tenth place, less than three laps behind the winner and ahead of the likes of Mike D, Jean, Pete and Matthew. Indeed, it was incredibly close at the top - the new 2-minute format working really well. Here's the championship table going into the final round next month...

   

Race Two: BTCC Round 3 - Reverse Grid

Although not everyone had BTCC cars, the nineteen from the rotation race who did were joined by Dexter and Ed, giving us the biggest BTCC field we've seen at the Barn. Twenty-one cars is getting into real BTCC territory - and six racers wouldn't score any points today. This was the last run-out of our old-style reverse grid - a true upside-down grid with the last place racer from last month - Dexter - starting from pole in the A Final. Mike D - October's winner - wouldn't start dead last... he had cars that didn't race last time behind. He had to beat all of them to claim the single step-up place into the C Final - and had to deal with full 'success ballast', limiting power to his BMW to just 75%. Confused? Let's just get on with the racing...

   

Sixteen laps - and the first to finish would move up. Mike was up against some stiff opposition - there was hotshot Ed, plus veteran campaigners Terry and Pete, as well as top-rate newcomers Robert and Bobby. Mike led the early stages, Robert holding second and the rest right behind - it was a predictably close race. By half distance, Ed has dislodged Robert and had his sights on Mike, the race gradually coming to him as he learned the track - everyone else having the advantage of practice and the rotation race under their belts. On lap twelve, Ed made his move and was through into the lead. Mike couldn't respond, indeed his race had already got a bit messy. Ed crossed the line for the win, Mike in second, Bobby an excellent third and Robert fourth.

Not only had Mike missed out on points, but he had to sit and watch a cracker of a C Final - a race anyone would want to be part of. Some typical first-lap BTCC carnage saw Alex grab some clean air at the front, with Ryan in second. Andy soon joined in what would be an enthralling battle for second, his and Ryan's Honda's running side-by-side for half the race. Ed joined them, having fought back through the pack and clearly the quickest car on the track. Catching is one thing, but passing is another! All three drivers showed perfect digital racing manners as they tried to overtake and get away, yet they remained locked together, lap after lap. Meanwhile, Alex was able to gradually stretch his advantage.

On lap eleven, the second place battle was down to two - Andy over-cooked a corner, letting Ryan and Ed through. Ryan couldn't hold Ed off for long - and the D Final winner was unleashed to hunt down Alex and try and grab a second step-up. However, time ran out... Alex had enough of a gap to stay in front, despite his 85% power 'success ballast'. Ed was second, Andy overtook Ryan for third - the top four all finishing on the same lap.

   

Alex now had a decent run at the overall race win - the reverse grid meaning he now faced drivers who'd finished in the bottom half of October's race. But he still faced some tough opposition - and carried that 'success ballast' power reduction. He was quickly through the field at the start of the B Final - going from last to first by the end of the opening lap. However, Ash, Matthew and Jean kept him honest - all three staying on the lead lap for most of the race. It was a great race from Ash in the big MG6 and worthy of a step-up, had an extra place been available. Matthew dropped back in the closing stages, allowing Jean to grab third.

That just left the unpredictability of the reverse grid A Final. On paper, all Alex needed to do was to avoid any of the inevitable carnage - especially at the start. Alex picked his way through the field and found himself out front with Jeremy, both in similar silver BMWs. An entertaining battle for the lead ended when Jeremy crashed at around half-distance and lost a lap. That let Duncan's big BMW 330i through into second and Isaac's Civic up to third. Alex was controlling the race, keeping out of any drama, which both Ollie and Dexter could have provided. Jeremy fought back to third, leaving the podium looking like this...

   

Congrats to Alex for grabbing that all-important C Final win and then negotiating the potential pit-falls of the reverse grid. It was an overall race win that gives him a healthy 20-point advantage in the championship, going into the three rounds in December (updated table below). Here are the full results...

   

   

In December, we'll introduce a more authentic BTCC 'reverse grid' with the pole-sitter drawn out of a hat (we have the ping-pong balls ready...). If that works, we'll use that at the tin-top Saturdays in 2023 and 2024.

And that was the morning session finished - just 15 minutes later than scheduled, despite the record-breaking attendances. We'd start again after a 35 minute lunch break with the GT Championship team race...

[woodcote]

Race Report Part 2 - GT Championship Team Race

We waved goodbye to Jean, Dexter, Marios, Oliver and Duncan at lunchtime, leaving nineteen racers in six teams for the third round of our 2022 Worthing GT Championship...

   

Terry was deputising for both Jean and Oli to captain Johnny's Workshop - a fully Bronze team with a change of car to a sidewinder Aston Martin Vantage. AST Better were also running a Vantage, with WHAM! Racing's Bentley a third sidewinder on the grid. Both Sports Carazing and Fundamentally Barley had the same line-ups as last month, with the Barley boys swapping back to an AMG GT3. AST One had Ed back, with Bobby the third driver in their Corvette C8R.

The action started with a two-minute Super-Pole session - the driver qualifying each car would start the race. On a wet track, Ryan closed out a third successive pole position for Sports Carazing...

   

The hall lights were dimmed and we were ready to race for 48-minutes - a number divisible by both three and four, to accommodate the quartet of Johnny's Workshop. And we were in for a wet race too - starting on a damp track, with rain forecast and the possibility of a drying track at the end...

   

The rain didn't take long to come and some of the teams pitted early to change their Intermediate tyres for full Wets. A tyre change takes nearly a minute in our GT Endurance format, so it is a big decision - most left it to the first driver change, although both Johnny's Workshop Fundamentally Barley stayed out on Inters, hoping to work with the conditions and gain an advantage...

   

At that first driver change stop, Ryan handed the Sports Carazing AMG to Matthew with a massive nine lap lead - showing what a magnificent racer he's become. In second, Simon handed the Fundamentally Barley AMG to Rob, just two laps ahead of the WHAM! Racing Bentley, which Ash had driven beautifully and was now piloted by Jeremy. The other three teams had all had problems during the first stint, some of them rear-wing related. The all-Bronze team of Johnny's Workshop were going well in fourth, with Isaac already into the fifth minute of his stint after a strong opening 12-minutes from Ollie. AST Better were running close behind, with Kevin taking over from Pete. At the back, the AST One Corvette had struggled in the opening stages - Bobby handing over to Alex with a three lap gap to the rest of the field and twenty-one adrift of the leaders...

   

Matthew initially stretched the lead, but then was pegged back as Rob got into his stride. The rain had stopped with about twenty minutes to go, but the track remained sodden. At the second driver change, all the teams remained on Wet tyres. The gap between first and second was still nine laps, Oliver taking over the Carazing car and Mike jumping into the blue Bilstein AMG. Jeremy had kept the Bentley in contact, just a lap back, and handed over to Andy for the final sixteen minutes. Alex enjoyed an impressive stint, jumping up to fourth and cutting the deficit to the leaders down to eighteen laps, nine behind WHAM! Racing. Johnny's Workshop were in fifth with Terry at the wheel, three laps behind AST One and just a lap ahead of AST Better, where Kevin had pitted to give Dean the final stint...

It proved an exciting sixteen minutes, with Oliver reasonably safe, but Mike and Andy going hammer and tongs for second. The gap between the leader and the chasing duo did come down to seven laps, but that was mostly due to an early stop for tyres - Oliver going back out on Wets as the track was drying extremely slowly. Andy would also need to make a lengthy stop for tyres, but could Mike make it to the end? As the Bentley's tyres degraded and braking distances lengthened significantly, Mike managed to put a lap between the two cars - the WHAM! Racing team strategists responded with a mid-stint stop and a gamble on Intermediates. Although tricky to begin with, the track conditions soon turned in favour of the Inters and the Bentley was now quicker than the AMG that was three laps ahead.

The Fundamentally Barley strategy was to go the end on the worn wets, but they began to wear more quickly as the track dried... With just ninety seconds to go, Mike was forced to stop. When he left the pits a minute later, Andy was just a few corners behind and closing rapidly. An off for the Mercedes saw the Bentley get through and take second place - the chequered flag falling at the end of the lap for a dramatic finish. Of course, that was just for the minor podium places - Oliver brought the winning AMG home eleven laps ahead. It had been another fabulous collaborative effort - a third win out of three for the team and a second for the line-up of Ryan, Oliver and Matthew. Ed brought the 'Vette home in fourth, twelve laps behind the pair ahead - and three laps ahead of Johnny's Workshop. Seven laps adrift in sixth was the second Aston Martin of AST Better.

       

And here are all your stats from the race...

   

The final round of the GT Championship is next month - with three wins already, Sports Carazing can't be beaten...

   

However, there's going to be quite a scrap for second and third - and maybe for a consolation race win?

Next up is Group C and the Muscle Car Mondiale...

[woodcote]

Race Report Part 3 - Group C & Muscle Car Mondiale

There were nine cars on the grid again for Group C - a slightly different nine from last month, but giving us the same format of qualifying, a 5-minute B final and three step-ups to the 10-minute Feature race. The cars qualified in two groups and finished like this...

   

Alex, Dean and Mike would be waiting for the outcome of the B final, which saw Simon's Toyota start on pole...

   

And it was the big yellow Toyota that blitzed the race, finishing a lap up on Terry's Porsche. The drama was for that final step-up spot - the other four all in the mix throughout. Oliver, Jeremy and Matthew all finished on the same lap, but it was Oliver who crossed the line first.

   

Alex has dominated Group C this season and he led the feature race from the start, methodically building up a sizeable advantage over the pursuing pack. At halfway, Terry was in second, two laps back - followed closely by Dean, Oliver, Mike and Simon. Dean had a great second half of the race, jumping to the front of the also-rans and cutting into Alex's advantage as the leader eased off a little. Behind him, Simon and Mike were having an almighty scrap for third - the Wynn's Porsche crossing the line ahead, albeit by the smallest of margins. There was a good battle too between Terry and Oliver for fifth - Oliver eventually prevailing...

       

Congratulations to Alex who took a hat-trick of wins to claim the 2022 Group C title - next month the Slot.it cars will make way for a three-race BTCC format and will only return in October 2023 as part of the new Birkett Relay. Here are you stats and the final championship table...

   

   

And now, the final race of the day...

Race Five: Muscle Car Mondiale

Seventeen cars lined up for our third MCM event - that gave us two heats of six and one of five. The heats are nice long 10-minute affairs - a great opportunity to stretch the legs of a vast array of machinery. The top two from each heat go through to a 5-minute sprint race to end the day...

   

The heats are seeded from the morning's rotation race - meaning the top three this morning each headed one of the heats. Heat One saw rotation race winner Terry line up against Oliver, Dean, Robert, Jeremy and Ollie. There were two Sierras, three '71 Camaros and a Javelin. Dean took the race by the scruff of its neck, putting clear air between him and the others. Oliver had a good race too, coming home in second ahead of Jeremy in the first of the Sierras. Robert had a great run with his new Javelin to come fourth, ahead of Terry and Ollie. Ollie's Camaro was a bit worse for wear at the end - hopefully it can be patched up for next time.

   

Andy started in pole of a tough Heat Two - up against Ryan, Ash, Pete, Isaac and Ed, who was seeded last, not having raced in the rotation. It was an eclectic mix of cars - two Javelins, a Mk1 Escort, two 1969 Camaros and a Dodge Challenger. This looked to be a three-way battle between Ryan, Andy and Ed - although a couple of lengthy pit-stops for Ed's Camaro dropped him back behind Isaac, who was driving an excellent race. At the front, Ryan managed to put Andy under pressure, but it finished Andy-Ryan-Isaac-Ed-Pete-Ash.

   

This picture of Alex and Simon's cars side-by-side sums up the magic of the MCM class! Heat Three was a competitive one - Alex up against Simon, Mike, Stephen and Matthew with two 1971 Camaros, a Mercury Cougar, Ford Falcon XC and Alex swapping his new Bastos Camaro Z28 for a BMW E30 M3. It was Mike's newly prepared James Hunt Camaro that completely stole the show in this ten minutes. Mike is a dab hand with a '71 Camaro and this has to be his best... heading through halfway on 19 laps, Mike finished on a massive score of 38 laps - two ahead of Alex who'd driven the little BMW superbly to runner-up spot. Simon was third, Matthew fourth and Stephen fifth in this five-car heat.

   

The last quick-fire action of the day was also dominated by Mike's Camaro. He was off down the road as Ryan and Andy battled over second. And it was another great scrap between the two. It all came down to the final lap - Ryan getting caught in traffic and Andy taking full advantage to steal a slightly undeserved second place. Two laps behind them, Oliver, Dean and Alex had their own tussle over fourth. Up against two well-sorted '71 Camaros, it was Alex's petite BMW that crossed the line first.

   

   

The championship is nicely poised...

   

That was the end of another excellent Saturday at the Barn. Huge thanks go to everyone who came along - especially to the set-up crew, the awesome race control team and to all those who stayed behind to pack away. We couldn't do it without you. We have just one Digital event left this year - on Saturday 17 December. The schedule will be slightly different, with a three-race BTCC format being worked around the club car rotation, GT team race and Muscle Car Mondiale.

There will be a video of this November event, keep an eye out below...

[woodcote]

Here's that video of some of Saturday's action...



All our videos can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/@WorthingHORacing

[LMP]

Well done to Ryan, Oliver and Matthew for securing GT title with one round to go!

[BARacer]

And credit to the car tuner!